St. Louis Man Sentenced to 146 Months in Prison for Attempted Armed Robbery and Attempted Carjacking After Drunk Driving Crash
ST. LOUIS / Wednesday, February 11, 2026 – U.S. District Judge Joshua M. Divine on Wednesday sentenced a convicted felon to 146 months in prison for attempting to rob a cabdriver at gunpoint after a drunk driving crash and trying to carjack a good Samaritan who stopped to help.
Judge Divine also fined Cornell Woolfolk $3,000. Woolfolk, 29, pleaded guilty in November in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He admitted that early on the morning of Dec. 4, 2024, officers from the Berkeley Police Department and the Woodson Terrace Police Department were dispatched to a crash on Natural Bridge Road near Interstate 70. A 2008 Pontiac had struck a 2017 Dodge Journet taxicab, causing the cab to roll over onto its roof. Officers spotted Woolfolk removing a large bag from the Pontiac and getting into the rear seat of a 2011 Nissan Altima driven by a good Samaritan who stopped to help after the crash. Woolfolk initially ignored officer’s requests to get out of the car. When the car’s driver got out, Woolfolk began chasing him before Woolfolk was caught and arrested by police, the plea says. Officers found a stolen .380 caliber pistol in Woolfolk’s bag and several half-empty liquor bottles in the Pontiac. Woolfolk’s blood alcohol level was 0.14 percent.
Following the introduction of evidence and sentencing testimony from a Berkeley police officer, Judge Divine ruled that Woolfolk attempted to rob the cab driver at gunpoint. Judge Divine also ruled that Woolfolk then attempted to carjack the good Samaritan to escape the scene of the crash. Police intervened before Woolfolk made his escape.
The Berkeley Police Department, the Woodson Terrace Police Department, and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nino Przulj prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.
Contact
Robert Patrick, Public Affairs Officer, robert.patrick@usdoj.gov.
Source: U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Missouri
